The Ball
by Made of Lilies
Summary: Our beloved Sherlock Holmes in his youth, after facing all those thrilling adventures, attends a ball in town which will be life-changing. His true feelings about Virginia are finally clear. (This is my first fanfic ever so plz be understanding. I wrote this a long long time ago but uploaded it again due to some past problems.)
1. Chapter 1

Sherlock was alone in the house. His uncles had left for the ball and left him alone with the housekeeper. She was in the kitchen, pretending to be reading but Sherlock had long noticed she was actually sleeping. Of course, that did not bother him. She was only giving him a headache when awake. But still, he was annoyed by the fact that his uncles trusted her to watch over him. At least she was not anywhere near him.

He was in his room, reading. As always, his brother would say, but Sherlock had gone a long way from that introverted bookworm he used to be. All those adventures he lived, the acquaintances he made. But there he was again, alone in a room, reading all sorts of books, trying to forget all about his loneliness. He was thinking about the ball, and everyone else that would be there. Virginia would be there too. He could not get his mind off her. She would be bored there. In a huge room, filled with supposed aristocrats that were just there to show off. Even if there were actually some people of their age in there, she would still not have a good time. She just did not fit in with the other girls of her age. She was different and anyone could tell. But that was what Sherlock liked about her.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He hurried downstairs to open. The last thing he wanted was for the housekeeper to wake up.

"Who is it?" he said as silently as possible.

"Come on, Sherlock. We don't have all day. Open the door!"

"Mattie?"

"Well, aren't you a genius! Hurry up! I'm freezing!"

"Just wait a second!" Sherlock replied and opened the door hastily. Mattie was shaking from the cold.

"Why did it take you so long?"

"I did not expect any visits. What are you doing here?"

"I came to take you to the city."

"To do what exactly?"

"To the ball, of course."

"You must be joking. You and me in the ball?"

"Not at all. And why not after all? Everyone will be there. Even if we do not fit in perfectly, we can just go talk to Virginia and ."

"I was not planning to attend. I…I don't know."

"Oh come on! It will be fun. Just put on a suit and some proper shoes and let's hurry up before it gets too dark!"

"Oh Mattie! I really don't feel like it…And I got no proper clothes for a ball…"

"Don't be silly Sherlock! Even I have such clothes." Mattie said and opened Sherlock's drawers. "Here you are. That should be fine."

"Well alright, alright. Just go downstairs and I will meet you in a minute."

"Hurry up, fancy boy. We don't want to miss Virginia, do we?"

Sherlock looked at Mattie suspiciously. Was that supposed to mean something? Probably not. He should that slip away. He got ready as fast as possible and headed down the stairs.

"Ready!"

"Well, doesn't young Holmes look good in a suit!"

"Stop it, Mattie. Let's just get on with this."

"As you wish, sir."

Sherlock smiled. Mattie was such a baby sometimes. He quickly wrote a note to the housekeeper so that she wouldn't be worried. Not that she would notice. He left it on the kitchen table and they left.


	2. Chapter 2

The two boys reached the mansion in no time. The butler at the door let them in. They made their way through all the people and ended up in the middle of the ballroom. Sherlock was looking around desperately. Out of the sudden, he felt a pad on the back. He turned around and he saw his uncle.

"What are you doing here young man? Weren't you supposed to be home?"

"Well, dear uncle, I was feeling lonely and bored and I knew my professor would be here so I came."

"Alright then. I suppose it is not that big of a problem after all. Just watch your moves and behave properly. Do not let me down."

"Of course, sir." said Sherlock and turned away, still in search of Crowe.

He wandered around the room as if he was lost. Then he heard a voice in the background.

"Sherlock! Sherlock! Over here!"

"Oh not again! What is it Mattie? I'm in the middle of something here."

He was carrying a huge plate full of almost everything that the refreshments table had to offer.

"Look at all those goods that I found here."

"Oh my God, Mattie. You got sauce all over your face. Behave yourself."

"Oh, I'm sorry sir. I did not want to bother your Highness. Us farmboys have nothing to do with the aristocrats after all."

"Come on. You know I didn't mean it like that. You just have to be a little more careful. It's a ball we're attending here. Just look at this place and all the people around. Do you see anyone else covered in sauce around here?"

"Whatever, Sherlock. I always stand out anyways!" said Mattie and walked away with pride all over his face.

Sherlock continued looking around. He went a bit further into the ballroom and there she was. Standing next to the fireplace, looking at the floor and slowly moving her feet as if she was dancing. She looked stunning. She had always been beautiful but today she looked amazing. Sherlock had never seen her like that before. She was wearing a beautiful, velvet dress. In a bright magenta color, with a huge, silken bow tied in the back. Her long, curly, ginger hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall as always. Her eyes were of a color Sherlock had never seen before. It reminded him of the sky just after the sun had set the most subtle violet. Her rosy cheeks fitted her bright, with millions of freckles, face. And her lips, her lips looked so perfectly pink and full of life. Sherlock just kept on gazing at her. He was watching her moves. Sitting in the corner, in silence. Still moving her feet slowly, as if she was dancing inside.

She noticed him later. She looked at him and smiled. He panicked and smiled back nervously. He went closer and sat next to her.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said you preferred spending the night with a good book, in front of the fireplace. Is this what you had in mind?" she asked and looked at him with her sweet and lovely smile on her face again.

"Well not exactly. Mattie is the one that got me into this. I had no intention of coming. The question is what you are doing here. I never thought I would see you in one of these places." Sherlock was shaking nervously. He could not even look straight at her face.

"To be honest, I did not want to come either. But my father is here. Oh, God, do I hate this place. I have been so bored over the last few hours. Nobody interesting to talk to in here. Thank God you came." She said and laughed.

Sherlock could not get his eyes off the ground. He was afraid that the moment he looked at her he would panic and do something odd. As she kept on talking, all he could think about was how enchanting her American pronunciation was. So strange to him. And in that moment, he broke his silence with something no one would ever expect him to say.

"Let's get out of here. I've been here before. There is a heaven-like garden just in the back of the house. I'm sure you will love it." he said, talking in an ambitious and filled with hopes way, like never before.

"Why are we still here?" Virginia answered full of enthusiasm and grabbed his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

They leaved the ballroom and headed to the garden. As they exited the mansion, Virginia turned around and stopped Sherlock. He was speechless.

"What's wrong? Did you regret? Do you want to go back inside?"

"No, not at all. It's perfect here. You were right. It truly is an enchanting garden. Heaven-like to be precise."

"Then what is it?" he said nervously. He was worried about her answer.

"Can I ask you something?" she said and looked down in a shy way. He nodded yes and she continued. "Why are you here with me?"

"What do you mean? I asked you to come here."

"No, not that. I'm just wondering. Why do you stay here and talk with me? You could be in there talking to Mattie or any other girl. At least you can fit in there."

"Why would I want to?"

"I don't know. Don't you have any friends?"

"Of course I do. And I am with them right now." he said and a smile formed on his face.

"Well that's kind of you to say. But I would not call me a normal person for someone to befriend. There are many girls in there you could hang out with. Why me? All I am is an outsider that can only make you embarrassed in public."

"Are you kidding? You are the most amazing girl I have ever met. And you are not weird. You are different. If someone is weird around here, that would be me. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have known you for so many years and you have always been one of the most interesting people I've known. Everything about you does not remind me of anyone else. You are just perfect." He smiled politely and he blushed.

"You are really trying hard to make feel better about myself. But the fluttering cannot fool me. I saw myself in there. Standing in the middle of all the aristocratic girls. I did not fit in and everyone could tell from miles away."

"That's true. You did stand out. But that's only because you were unlike them. You were far more beautiful, far cleverer, far kinder and your soul is unique. How could you possibly fit in?"

She had no answer. She just smiled and her eyes were filled with tears of joy. She tried to hide them but Sherlock could see them. He touched her hands softly and grabbed them. He got closer to her.

"Virginia, you are perfect. You are the only person who has accepted me for what I am and is always there to support me and have my back when I need you. I will never find someone like you again and I know it. All these years we have spent together, we have always looked out for each other. We have grown together. And in every adventure we would get in, in every danger we found ourselves, my only concern was that something could happen to you. It's just so good to see that we have gotten out of this and we can still sit in this garden this beautiful day."

"Well, that was…wonderful. I never thought you'd talk like that. You mean a lot to me as well, Sherlock. I hope you meant those things you said before. Because I feel the same about you. " Virginia said and smiled in a way she had never smiled before.

Sherlock could feel her smile illuminating the whole garden and his heartbeat just kept on becoming faster and faster. She started getting closer to him as well and put her head on his shoulder. She grabbed his hand even stronger. They stayed there. Completely motionless for quite some time. They said nothing more. There was complete silence. But that silence did not hide nervousness. Instead it hid familiarity. It was as if they could communicate with their eyes. No words were necessary.

Sherlock then turned around and looked at her. One of her majestic ginger curls was falling in her eyes. He tucked it behind her ear. Again, she smiled and brightened up his heart. He bent towards her and kissed her. It was a rather rapid and innocent kiss. By someone completely inexperienced. At that moment, he was shaking. All the nervousness on his body had reached the limits of madness. She smiled as always, saying nothing. He got even more worried. What did that mean? She had nothing to say? But then came the moment of complete happiness. She embraced him strongly and kissed him back. She giggled loudly. It was a dream come true for both of them.


End file.
